Hotwire.com, a leading discount travel site, announced the top ten most popular destinations where revelers plan to ring in the New Year. This year, in addition to visiting popular festive cities like New York, Las Vegas and New Orleans, travelers are running from the winter weather and setting their sights on warmer, southern destinations, like Orlando, San Diego and Miami, which make up more than half of this year’s list.
Orlando is a popular New Year’s Eve getaway for families because many of its theme parks have big seasonal celebrations, so it’s no surprise that it returns to the top of the list again in 2012. Chicago, on the other hand, follows at second and has moved up two spots since last year. With a huge fireworks display over Lake Michigan, the Windy City has pushed perennial favorites Las Vegas and New York down a spot to third and fourth place, followed by international hot spot Miami, which is a newcomer to the list at fifth.
San Francisco – where people will line up along the Embarcadero to watch fireworks launched from barges in the bay – moved up one spot to sixth place, and is followed by another newcomer to the list, London, at seventh. Meanwhile, San Diego moved up one spot to number eight, followed by Los Angeles and New Orleans, which respectively fell from sixth and fifth place last year.
Read more: Travel Daily News
